A recent post to the Command & Conquer Blog updates us on progress on the upcoming free-to-play Command & Conquer game (thanks Ant). This includes an explanation of why they are not actually hyping this more, saying: "We’ve decided to actually let the game speak for itself, instead of starting the typical marketing noise you normally would expect. That being said, it might be a few more months before we reveal more information – we don’t just want to tell you about the game, we want to show you." It also outlines plans for an extended beta test beginning next year:

So looking at where we are right now with our game and the ongoing service that comes with Free 2 Play games actually makes me believe that this game can become a great Command & Conquer. And we will be working together with you – The Fans - to make it better and better. As planned right now, the Beta will start in the first half of 2013, and will be the longest running beta phase in franchise history.

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I always enjoy how little people realize that their personal point in life greatly effected how they viewed the product of that time. There's someone, somewhere, claiming rap was never better than when MC Hammer did it, because rap was exciting and new to him personally at that time.

Games today do almost everything better than previously. They're less cheap. They're more focused. They actually tell stories. Hell, I know the plot of Borderlands 2. I consider that something of a miracle. Somehow Gearbox managed to tell that story coherently. Does anyone know the plot of Metroid? How about Quake? Did anyone ever know why they were doing anything in particular in Doom?

Sure, certain game styles have died out. Turn-based, story-heavy JRPGs, for instance, are no longer popular. FF selling poorly isn't a sign that games are worse, it's a sign that those style games just aren't popular.

The real complaint people can have is that everything is homogenized at the top. Much like what happened with radio and network TV, no one will fully commit to a risk because anything unique may have a limited audience. Fine, whatever. Did this kill music? No, because with the homogenization of radio came the rise of mp3s and spotify. Did this kill TV? No, because with the homogenization of network TV (i.e., Terra Nova being a kiddie show) came the rise of AMC, FX, HBO and Showtime. With the homogenization of EA will come the rise of anything else, thanks to convenient digital distribution. It's still hard, as video games cost a fortune, as movies do, but man, if FTL and Orcs Must Die 2 aren't up there as 2 of the 5 best games of the year...